Though he seems a little tentative here and there, I think Colin Hanks is shaping up to be the best of the celebrity wunderkinds. Not that there is heavy competition. Sure, there's Emma Roberts, niece of Julia Roberts, Mamie Gummer the daughter of Meryl Streep, and the endless supply of Culkins. Choosing to pursue an acting career in the limelight of a famous relative can be quite difficult, but Colin Hanks seems to have pulled it off with panache and grace. He’s incredibly cute, awkwardly and adorably funny, and just plain likeable.

We all might have been taken in by Colin Hanks in the beginning, our eyes shining bright with the allure of the possibility of ANOTHER Tom Hanks! But Colin is beginning to carve out his own niche, definitely taking different roles than his father might have, and is slowly but surely coming into his own as an actor. The Great Buck Howard showed immense promise, even if it did play upon the real-life father and son dynamic that Hanks, and well, Hanks, have with one another. If Colin Hanks is serious about being a real actor, which he seems to be, then he has a lot to prove on his own, away from his famous father, and taking roles where he plays opposite his father may not be the way to accomplish that goal of being taken seriously. Thankfully, the next few films Colin Hanks is involved with appear to be Tom Hanks-free, and we will be able to see further how Colin Hanks fares in both comedies, and more serious works. Strangely enough, that seems to be the very path taken by his very famous father.

What is there not to like about Colin Hanks? Well, he may have achieved early success and gotten cast mainly because his dad is Tom Hanks, but what's wrong with using what you've got? In this crazy fast-paced Hollywood world, if you've got a solid "in" to the industry, you should utilize it. However, you can't ride off a famous name if you're no good at acting yourself. Hanks has appeared and continues to appear enough to convince even the most blackened heart that he does in fact, wish to be an actor.

And yes, there’s been a few missteps along the way, including an unfortunate turn in Tenacious D: the Pick of Destiny, though one suspects that may have been because he is a friend of Jack Black’s after their film together, Orange County. After the moderate success of the recent Untraceable, and King Kong, and the critically acclaimed hit at Sundance for The Great Buck Howard, up next for Hanks is I Know What Boys Like, alongside Anna Faris, Emma Stone, and Kat Dennings. The next few years are crucial for Colin Hanks, as he finalizes his place in Hollywood, and perhaps even branches off into writing or directing of his own. While Tom Hanks is getting up there in years, it’s nice to know we have Colin Hanks, who is affable, good looking and charming, ready to fulfill all our Hanksian cravings.